Aurora's POV
The carving haunted me.
Even hours later, after the pack dispersed and the boundary stone was guarded twice over, I could still see it every time I closed my eyes. Three crescents etched deep enough to fracture stone. One whole. One broken. One dark.
Choose.
The word followed me back into the mountain, echoing through corridors and chambers, settling into my chest like a weight I couldn't shake.
They weren't asking politely.
They weren't threatening openly either.
They were doing something far worse - forcing us to decide who we were willing to sacrifice.
I stood alone in the inner sanctuary, the space reserved for Luna rites and private communion. The chamber glowed faintly with moonlight filtered through crystal veins in the stone, illuminating symbols carved long before my time. This place had always felt like a refuge.
Tonight, it didn't feel like it.
